Interprofessional Education: Saudi Health Students’ Attitudes Toward Shared Learning

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of Participants

Variable	Value Label	Number of Participants (N=67)	Percentage
University/college	PSMCHS	67	100
	Nursing	16	24
	Clinical laboratory	26	39
	Respiratory care	25	37
Gender	Male	33	49
	Female	34	51
Have you completed RIPLS questionnaire before	No	67
	Yes	0
	No	67
	Yes	0

Note: Data are expressed as number (n) and percentage.

Abbreviations: PSMCHS, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences; RIPLS, Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale.

Table 2 RIPLS Responses from Healthcare Students

	Values and Labels (Number of Participants) (N=67)
Questions in RIPLS Questionnaire Item	1 (Strongly Disagree)	2 (Disagree)	3 (Neutral)	4 (Agree)	5 (Strongly Agree)
Subscale 1: Teamwork and collaboration a) Effective team-working
Shared learning with other students will help me to become a more effective member of a health care team	0 (0)	2 (3)	5 (7.5)	29 (43.2)	31 (46.3)
Patients would ultimately benefit if health care students worked together to solve patient problems	0 (0)	0 (0)	9 (13)	36 (54)	22 (33)
Shared learning with other health care student will increase my ability to understand clinical problem	0 (0)	0 (0)	6 (9)	27 (40)	34 (51)
Communication skills should be learned with other health care students	0 (0)	0 (0)	8 (12)	28 (42)	31 (46)
Team – working skills are essential for all health care students to learn	2 (3)	2 (3)	10 (15)	26 (39)	27 (40)
Shared learning will help me to understand my own professional limitations	0 (0)	3 (4)	12 (18)	26 (39)	26 (39)
b) Relationship with other professionals
Learning between health care students before qualification would improve working relationships after qualification	0 (0)	0 (0)	4 (6)	24 (36)	39 (58)
Shared learning will help me think positively about other health care professionals	0 (0)	0 (0)	9 (13)	26 (39)	32 (48)
For small – group learning to work, students need to trust and respect each other	0 (0)	0 (0)	8 (12)	29 (43)	30 (45)
Subscale 2: Professional identity a) Negative professional identity
I do not want to waste my time learning with other health care students	27 (40)	27 (40)	5 (8)	4 (6)	4 (6)
It is not necessary for undergraduate health care students to learn together	23 (34.5)	26 (39)	10 (15)	5 (7.5)	3 (4)
Clinical problem-solving can only be learnt effectively with students from their own profession	15 (23)	20 (30)	13 (19)	13 (19)	6 (9)
b) Positive professional identity
Shared learning with other health care professionals will help me to communicate better with patients and other professionals	0 (0)	0 (0)	17 (25.4)	25 (37.3)	25 (37.3)
I would welcome the opportunity to work on small group projects with other health care students	0 (0)	1 (1.5)	11 (16.5)	21 (31)	34 (51)
Shared learning will help to clarify the nature of patient problems	0 (0)	0 (0)	6 (9)	28 (42)	33 (49)
Shared learning before qualification will help me to become a better team – worker	0 (0)	0 (0)	5 (7.5)	35 (52.2)	27 (40.3)
Subscale 3: Roles and responsibilities
The function of nurses and pharmacists is mainly to provide support for doctors	11 (16.5)	10 (15)	13 (19)	10 (15)	23 (34.5)
I am not sure what my professional role will be	30 (45)	16 (23.5)	11 (16.5)	2 (3)	8 (12)
I have to acquire much more knowledge and skills than other health care students	2 (3)	2 (3)	17 (25.4)	25 (37.3)	21 (31)

Abbreviation: RIPLS, Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale.

Table 3 RIPLS Scores by Professional Disciplines and Post Hoc Test Bonferroni

	Possible Min & Max Scores		Nursing Mean ±SD	RCMean ±SD	CLSMean ±SD	One-Way ANOVA p-value*
Subscales
Team work and collaboration	9-45		38.14 (2.28)	38.42 (3.85)	39.07 (3.76)	0.25
Professional identity	7-35		21.64(1.73)	23.63 (2.90)	25.07 (3.76)	0.005*
Roles Responsibilities	3-15		7.07 (1.14)	9.37 (2.16)	10.5 (2.58)	0.001*
Overall	19-95		66.86 (3.8)	71.42 (5.09)	74.64 (7.47)	0.009*
Post Hoc Test Bonferroni		Comparison		Mean Difference	Confidence Interval	p-value
Team work and collaboration		Nursing with CLS		−0.929	−3.78–1.92	1.00
		Nursing with RC		–0.274	−3.21–2.66	1.00
		RC with CLS		−0.655	−3.08–1.77	1.00
Professional identity		Nursing with CLS		−3.43	−5.94 – -0.91	0.004*
		Nursing with RC		–1.98	–4.57 – 0.60	0.191
		RC with CLS		−1.45	–3.58 – 0.69	0.303
Roles and Responsibilities		Nursing with CLS		−3.43	−5.20 – -1.66	0.000*
		Nursing with RC		–2.30	–4.13 – - 0.48	0.008*
		RC with CLS		−1.13	–2.63 – 0.38	0.213
Overall		Nursing with CLS		−2.60	−8.26–3.07	0.809
		Nursing with RC		1.52	−7.34–4.30	1.000
		RC with CLS		–1.08	−5.89–3.74	1.000

Notes: Data are expressed as mean ± SD. *P-values,<0.05 were regarded as statistically significant.